The sudden rescue that burst in like some mechanical incarnation of divine descent did not bring me joy, only alarm.
Staring at Izuna's back, I opened my mouth but could not speak.
Fortunately, someone else voiced the question I was in no position to ask.
Masamune nearly screeched. "Izuna! Why did you come through the ceiling…?! And when did you even…?!"
"I heard everything. What the employer said… and what Sensei said."
Izuna's expression was steady. "Izuna understands everything now. I am sorry, employer. Izuna has decided to follow Sensei's guidance and act on her true thoughts."
"So you mean to betray me?"
Faced with Masamune's accusation, Izuna now felt no guilt at all.
"It was the employer who mocked Izuna's dream. Whether you told Izuna that a ninja must complete any mission or that hard work would one day lead her to a worthy Aruji-dono, it was all just to coax Izuna into obeying orders. An employer like this is not worthy of Izuna's loyalty."
Her tone was calm and cool, logic neatly laid out, and it made me worry whether she had suffered too heavy a shock.
"If you heard everything, then you should know that he lied to you too, shouldn't you?"
Masamune pointed at me behind Izuna, shifting blame like a seasoned schemer. "Don't be fooled by his sweet words. All he wanted was to squeeze intel about me out of you. Don't fall for those lines meant only to provoke me."
He still dared to sow discord between us. Truly an old fool longing for a senior home.
Yet when Izuna turned her deep gaze to me, I suddenly found myself unable to refute him.
Exaggerated as his words were, on the core question of whether I had deceived Izuna, he was right.
I could deny the parts that were mere speculation, but that would only be my side of the story. Would Izuna still trust the words of someone who had betrayed her once already?
In a situation like this, no matter what explanation I offered, it would not be surprising if she dismissed it as an excuse.
Guilt over what I had done, the shock of being found out, and the unease from Izuna's unusual composure all weighed on me. My thoughts fell into bleakness.
I lowered my eyes to avoid hers, unable to read the emotion within them. I am sorry.
But Masamune kept pressing on, softening his tone as he tried to persuade her.
"I know I did wrong. It makes sense for you to betray me. But even if you no longer work for me, you don't have to join my enemy, do you? Especially not someone who also hid things from you. Surely you do not need to stand under his banner."
Knowing Izuna valued emotion over profit, he had already realized it was impossible to lure her back. So he shifted strategy, trying only to keep her from helping me.
If he succeeded, the situation for me would be slightly worse than before Izuna appeared, but hardly unbearable. It would simply make stalling harder.
In truth, if things turned out that way, it might even be easier for me.
So I stayed silent.
Izuna blinked, then turned toward Masamune, her voice slightly lower.
"Sensei did deceive Izuna. Sensei is not a legendary ninja. Sensei did try to guide Izuna into revealing the employer's identity. And Sensei did send someone to attack Izuna… These are all facts."
That last one is not… Though I did admit it publicly to protect Wakamo's reputation…
Masamune brightened. "Exactly, Maiden Izuna. Please do not side with this despicable brat. Just stay out of the rest and leave here safely. As a token of apology, your payment will remain the same… no, I will double it. As long as you do not take his side."
But.
Izuna paid no attention to his bribe and continued.
"This is between Izuna and the Sensei. Izuna will settle it with the Sensei alone when everything is over."
"What?"
"For now, there is only one thing Izuna must do."
Facing Masamune's stunned expression, she declared solemnly,
"Izuna will join the Sensei and take down the employer who used Izuna's dream and tried to ruin Izuna's beloved Cherry Blossom Festival."
This Izuna was far more composed than usual.
Even Izuna had reached such resolve…
Seeing that, I could not help feeling ashamed as her Sensei. Something so simple, yet she was the one who taught it to me.
I exhaled, letting out the useless negativity that would only slow me down.
"Izuna, engage."
"Understood."
The ninja girl raised her gun and fired without hesitation.
Masamune dove aside, but only managed to avoid a small portion of the bullets.
If not for his sturdy body and the two of his goons who quickly counterattacked, he would have been knocked unconscious by the storm of mysterious 8 millimeter bullets pouring out at over a dozen rounds per second.
"Damn you, you ungrateful girl!"
Gritting through pain and rage, Masamune forced himself to think clearly enough to make the right decision.
Izuna was strong enough to fight dozens of Street Mouryo ronin by herself. Though the two assigned to guard him were among the more capable ones, they were still no match for her.
Which left only one choice.
"You two, hold them off!"
Even if they were useless, buying time should still be possible.
Barking the order, Masamune fled through the door at once.
Seeing this, I shouted urgently. Izuna, don't let him escape.
"Yes!"
Izuna moved to pursue, but the loyal Street Mouryo goons blocked her path.
We won't let you through.
The noh mask girl's six barrel machine gun spat rounds nonstop. Even Izuna had to retreat for a moment.
Meanwhile, the tengu mask girl raised her rocket launcher at me, hoping to force Izuna to fall back.
Now.
My eyes narrowed. Instead of dodging, I charged straight toward the tengu mask girl.
She gaped and fired. The rocket roared straight at my face.
"Sensei!?"
Izuna cried out, but in the next instant she and the two Street Mouryo all froze in disbelief.
Under everyone's gaze, the rocket that should have hit me dead on suddenly veered right at the last possible moment, brushing past my cheek and blossoming into fire against the wall behind me.
The power of the Shittim Chest could alter even the heavy flight of a rocket.
Had the tengu mask girl been trained properly, she would not have waited until I was only a few meters away to react. In that situation, using the rocket launcher as a club would have been the right choice.
But trash would always be trash.
"Got you."
I activated my authority and, while she was stunned, closed in. One hand on the barrel, the other on her arm, I twisted sharply. The launcher slipped from her hands with ease.
Just as I disarmed her exactly as planned, Izuna made her move too.
Perhaps the noh mask girl hesitated for only a heartbeat upon seeing her companion falter.
Should she keep suppressing Izuna or turn around to help her partner?
With her keen ninja eyesight, Izuna seized that instant of hesitation.
A ninja's kunai strapped to her thigh were not for show.
Her hand swept down, and several kunai appeared between her fingers. With a strong flick, she sent them spinning.
Compared to bullets, Izuna's training in throwing weapons allowed her to hit multiple chosen targets with greater precision and stealth.
Just like now.
The blades neatly sliced through the power cables feeding the Gatling gun.
The noh mask girl squeezed the trigger out of reflex, but no flame flared from the barrel.
Without power, the gun's rotation stopped. Without rotation, it could not feed rounds. The weapon was temporarily nothing but scrap metal.
In a heartbeat both Street Mouryo had lost the ability to fight.
Masamune should not have gotten far, though that might change soon.
Ignoring the dumbfounded duo, I tossed the heavy launcher back to the tengu mask girl and said to Izuna,
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
We ran after Masamune at full speed, leaving the two now harmless delinquents in the room.
The noh mask girl hesitated, then asked her partner. "Should we follow?"
"I…"
"What?"
The tengu mask girl hugged the launcher with shining eyes. "He was so cool…"
The noh mask girl recoiled. "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you see?" The tengu mask girl tugged her sleeve excitedly. "When Sensei took my weapon so easily, how smooth he was. And when he handed it back, how gentle. And also, the rocket turned in midair just now. That was ninjutsu, wasn't it? Real ninjutsu?"
Though she suspected her partner was lovestruck, the noh mask girl stuck to practical matters. "So… are we following or not?"
The tengu mask girl fidgeted. "Um… compared to that adult… no, compared to the employer… I think… I want to follow Sensei instead… I mean, after being treated that kindly, how can I be his enemy?"
"Kindly my foot!"
The noh mask girl wanted to scream, but only managed a weak sigh. "All right. I get it. My gun is broken anyway, I can't fight now. Let's just go back for today."
"Okay!"
"Come with me to get the gun repaired first, then… want to go to the festival?"
"Sure."
And so, the two captains of the Street Mouryo ronin withdrew from the scene.